“NEVER TAKE A KNIFE TO A GUN FIGHT!”
1 Sam. 17
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Pharaoh fought an expensive war and his country was bankrupt. He had a very valuable diamond so he decided to pawn it to float his country for about a year.
2. So he took the Star diamond down to the largest pawn shop in the Middle East and asked the owner what he would give him for the diamond. The owner said he would give him 50,000 drachmas for it.
3. The Pharaoh said, “Do you know how much this Star jewel is really worth? And do you know who I am?”
4. And the pawn shop owner answered, “If you wish to pawn the Star, it makes no difference who you are!”
B. TEXT
16:13 Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed [David]… and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. 17:8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear. 34 David said to [King] Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” 45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47…for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
C. THESIS
1. I was talking to my friend Mack Massey the other day and he said, “Never take a knife to a gun-fight!” I immediately grasped these words as a revelation of being unprepared for spiritual warfare.
2. It reminds me of the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indiana Jones meets an expert swordsman who does a formidable show of skill. Indiana scowls and pulls his pistol and shoots him, with little effort.
3. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I_Ds2ytz4o
This is a good example of taking a knife to a gun-fight! (Which is the title of this morning’s message.)
4. WHEN THE ISRAELITES CAME TO FIGHT THE PHILISTINES AND GOLIATH MADE HIS CHALLENGE, WHY WERE THE ISRAELITES POWERLESS TO CONTEND WITH GOLIATH? WHY DID THEY HAVE A LACK OF SPIRITUAL POWER? THEY BROUGHT A KNIFE TO A GUN FIGHT! WHAT DID DAVID HAVE THAT THE ISRAELITES DIDN’T? WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE? FIVE THINGS:
I. DAVID HAD AN ANOINTING & THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Bible says, “Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed [David]… and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David” (16:13). This anointing set him apart for sacred use. We all (every believer) can receive the anointing of God for works of service.
A. THE EMPOWERING PROPHESIED
1. The Lord Jesus said, "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" Acts 1:4-5.
2. It happened on the Day of Pentecost; “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” Acts 2:1-4.
B. THIS EMPOWERING NOT SAME AS SALVATION
1. The Empowering is not to be confused with salvation. The Holy Spirit has different ministries for different purposes. When we’re born again, the Holy Spirit comes in to regenerate us; but later He wants to endue us with power for works of service.
a). It is clear from Luke 10:20 that the apostles were saved before the day of Pentecost, and that Jesus even breathed the Holy Spirit on them for regeneration (Jn. 20:22; Gen. 2:7). So then what purpose did the Spirit falling at Pentecost serve?
b). At the Samarian revival (Acts 8:5-18), the people heard the Word preached (6), believed on Christ(12), were baptized in water (12), and later were baptized in the Holy Spirit (the empowering, 17). 8:16 says, “For the Spirit had not yet ‘fallen’ upon any of them.” That’s what happened at Pentecost.
c). In Acts 19:1-7; Paul specifically asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit “since” they believed. [The KJV has it right. If you always ‘received’ [this manifestation of the Spirit] when you believed, then why did Paul ask the question? The Greek grammar shows the ‘believing’ preceded the ‘receiving.’ See similar constructions in Mt. 22:25; Acts 5:10; 13:51; 16:6, 24.] Paul obviously saw a difference between “believing” on Jesus and “receiving” the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
2. So the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a second work of the Holy Spirit, available to all believers to empowering us for works of service.
C. HOW WE KNOW HE’S ALIVE! [Knights 3000, p. 349]
1. When Fri(d)t-jof Nansen, of Norway, started his arctic expedition, he took with him a carrier pigeon. After two years of exploration, he wrote a tiny message, attached it to the pigeon’s leg and tossed it into the air. It circled 3 times and headed due south.
2. What a trip it traversed – 2,000 miles of frozen land and ocean! But at last it dropped into the lap of the explorer’s wife, Eva. She knew by the pigeon’s arrival, that her husband was alive & well in the far north!
3. You can be sure Jesus is risen from the dead and is sitting at the right hand of God, because he sent the Dove – the precious Holy Spirit to abide with us forever.
4. Let’s receive ALL He has for us and be filled to all the fullness He intends! Let’s don’t go to Calvary and stop, let’s go to Pentecost too!
II. DAVID HAD A “VISION OF A BIG GOD”
A. THE ISRAELITES SERVED A PUNY GOD
1. Some people say to me, "Oh, Pastor Gaston, pray for me! The Devils after me; he's got me whipped down! He's trying to afflict my body. I hope I don't fall into sin. If I can just make it to heaven, that's all I could ask!"
2. Come on Church! How big is your God? Is your God just a block of wood you can haul around that can't hear or see? Is your God powerless?
3. NOT ME! My God is the Maker of the Stars; He causes the Wind to blow and the Sun to shine, He orders the future and has all power and infinite resources.
4. If your God is small, He won't ask much of you [maybe go to church a little, not sin too much], but you can't ask much from Him either.
5. BUT IF YOUR GOD IS THE GOD OF MOSES, ELIJAH, PAUL
He may tell you to part an ocean, or raise someone from the dead, or to walk on water, or open someone's eyes! Our God is an awesome God!
B. DAVID’S GOD WAS IMMENSE
1. But David had met the God who had clothed him with power to overcome enemies stronger and more dangerous than himself.
2. David said, “The Lord, who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
3. Sometimes when we face an impossibility, we start looking at the resources God has on hand to meet the emergency. But we forget that WHEN GOD CREATED THE UNIVERSE, He made it out of NOTHING! GOD DOESN’T NEED ANYTHING TO WORK A MIRACLE FOR YOU! Your God is BIGGER than your imagination!
C. HIGHER VISION
1. There was a cabinet maker in London who had a sign beside the door of his cabinet shop which stated, “Living above.” The sign was to notify his customers that if they found the shop closed, they could find him upstairs in his apartment.
2. It’s an awesome thing for a person to be able to say they “live above their work;” that our dreams and hopes and real life are above the level of our daily grind.
3. Like him, we may have to work in the heat, with a lot of dust and wood chips, but at least in our hearts and minds we “live above it.”
4. God intends our vision to be greater than a career or even a family. We’re to work for God’s eternal kingdom; “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you as well” Mt. 5:33.
III. DAVID HAD FAITH, THEY HAD FEAR
A. THE FEAR OF THE ISREALITES
1. Fear & faith are opposites. The Israelite’s fear robbed them of their faith and the ability to do more than the natural. In the natural, Goliath was the greatest warrior in the Valley of Elah and would be victorious.
2. Israel forgot WHO was on their side -- Almighty God! They forgot WHAT God had done for them – all the times He’d helped them defeat their enemies.
3. FEAR PARALYZES THEM, FEAR CRIPPLED THEIR FAITH. FEAR PUT THEM OUT OF THE BATTLE, like the 22,000 of Gideon’s army who left the battle field because of fear!
B. BUT DAVID LET HIS FAITH DOMINATE
1. He didn’t look at his CIRCUMSTANCES; he looked at his GOD! Faith unlocks the doors to God's power. God's power is activated by faith; "As is your faith, be it unto you."
2. ILLUSTRATION
a. A wealthy Christian farmer in Nigeria, named Madaki, once asked all the women of his church to come to his farm to carry corn to the church. It was a 3½ mile trip.
b. The next morning 104 women showed up, some with small, medium, and large sized baskets. They loaded their basket and walked the 3 miles back to the church.
c. When they arrived, he said, “You may all keep the corn you have carried! It is a gift to you!” There were shouts of joy, but also sighs of regret.
d. Many said, “If only I had known, I would have taken a larger basket!” Others who had not carried corn, asked to go get some. “No,” he said, “The time for carrying corn is passed.” It was a gift and a picture of our rewards in heaven. [Walter Knights 3,000 Illus., p. 254]
3. ARE YOU COMING TO GOD WITH A LARGE OR SMALL BASKET? Whatever you bring is what God will fill!
IV. DAVID- A MAN OF PRAYER; THEY- PRAYERLESS
A. THE ISRAELITES WERE PRAYERLESS
1. The Israelites were like many people today who see prayer as a waste of time and even as failure to deal with reality! Some arrogant people even imply you’re simple-minded for believing in prayer, but their problem is they don’t know God is real!
2. The Israelite warriors probably didn’t think God had any bearing on the situation, because God had let them be dominated by the Philistines for decades. “Why would things change now?” They were like a football team who doesn’t rely on God, but on its star-players and the brilliance of its coaching staff to win the game.
B. DAVID WAS A MAN OF PRAYER
1. David said in Psalm 109:4; “…but I am a man of prayer.” David walked with God; he had experiential knowledge of God. He worshipped and fellowshipped with God, and in emergencies relied on God to save him.
2. E. Stanley Jones says, “In prayer you align yourself to the purpose and power of God, He is able to do things through you that you could not do otherwise…for this is an open universe, where some things are left open, contingent upon our doing them…which will never be done except as we pray.” [The Secret of Effective Prayer, Helen Shoemaker, p. 5]
3. When David asked God to give him power to defeat Goliath (which undoubtedly he did), God answered that prayer and made him victorious. Someone has said, “Prayer moves the arm that moves the world!”
4. Are we praying and relying on God’s arm of power to order our lives and help us in our time of need?
V. THEY LET THE ENEMY DICTATE THE BATTLE
A. GOLIATH’S STRATEGY? TO TIE THE VICTORY TO HIS SIZE
1. Goliath’s strategy? To “intimidate” (psychological Warfare): “to frighten or make someone timid, especially in order to make them do what one wants.” That’s still the devil’s strategy today.
a. To keep you from believing God, speaking for God, in fear.
b. To make you believe there's no way out of your problem.
2. Goliath had the whole Israelite army:
a. Shaking in their boots;
b. Paralyzed with fear;
c. Running for cover.
3. LOOK AT THE PEOPLE OF GOD!
a. There hadn’t been a fight yet.
b. No one had thrown a spear or shot an arrow.
c. Yet the Army of Israel was talking defeat.
B. DAVID’S STRATEGY? TO TIE VICTORY TO GOD’S SIZE!
1. "You come with sword and spear, but I come against you in the Name of the Lord of Hosts..."
2. David depended on God to defeat the Giant in his life.
3. Somebody said, “Goliath is too big to fight!” David said, “Goliath is too big to miss! And God is too big to fail!”
C. ILLUSTRATION
1. A boy was flying by airplane to visit his grandparents. He happened to sit by a man who was an agnostic professor. The boy was reading a Christian novel and the professor thought he would have some fun with the boy.
2. He said, “Young man, if you can tell me something God CAN DO, I’ll give you this big, ‘red delicious’ apple.” The boy thought for a moment and said, “Mister, if you can tell me something God CAN’T DO, I’ll give you a whole barrel of apples!”
3. Praise God, David believed in a God bigger than Goliath!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. During the Civil War, a Union soldier from Ohio was shot in the arm during the battle of Shiloh. His captain saw he was wounded and barked out an order, "Gimme your gun, Private, and get to the rear!"
2. The private handed over his rifle and ran toward the North, seeking safety. But after only going about two or three hundred yards, he came upon another skirmish.
3. So he ran to the East, and found himself in another part of the battle. Then he ran West, but encountered more fighting there.
4. Finally, he ran back to the front lines shouting, "Gimme back my rifle, Captain. There ain't no rear to this battle!" When it comes to the troubles in life, there’s just no way we can run away from them.
B. THE CALL
1. Instead, we need to hold onto God and claim His promises. “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness!” (Richard Trench)
2. How many of you need MORE SPIRITUAL POWER? (You don’t want to bring a knife to a spiritual shoot-out.)
3. How many need a NEW ANOINTING OF THE SPIRIT? How many need a BIGGER VISION OF GOD?
4. How many are tired of seeing the size of your problem and are ready to see the size of your God?
5. PRAYER.
